In a bid to alleviate the backlog of U.S. weapons to Taiwan, U.S. lawmakers are proposing that Taiwan be licensed to manufacture U.S. military hardware.
Correction: This story has been updated. An earlier version did not attribute Politico as the original source of the story.
Correction: This story has been updated. An earlier version did not attribute Politico as the original source of the story.
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00:00 Taiwan needs weapons to defend itself against threats from neighboring China.
00:05 Beijing claims the country as part of its territory and has not ruled out an invasion to bring it under control.
00:12 To bolster its military, Taiwan has been buying up billions of U.S. dollars worth of weapons from the United States.
00:18 But Taiwan isn't getting the weapons it's purchased, and the backlog is now worth close to 20 billion U.S. dollars.
00:26 What's the holdup?
00:27 Supply chain issues, labor shortages, and shifting geopolitical priorities on the U.S. end.
00:33 According to Politico, a group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers is now proposing a bold new solution.
00:39 Instead of waiting for arms deliveries from overseas, why not build U.S. weapons in Taiwan?
00:45 Now, a group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers is proposing a bold new solution.
00:51 Instead of waiting for arms deliveries from overseas, why not build U.S. weapons in Taiwan?
00:57 Under the proposal, Taiwan would be licensed to build U.S. military hardware on its soil.
01:03 But to pull off something like this comes with risks.
01:06 China frequently carries out cyberattacks on Taiwan.
01:10 If U.S. weapons are allowed to be built here, China could get its hands on U.S. intelligence.
01:16 We've seen that in a hearing last month, the House of Representatives, Mr. Matt Gaetz,
01:23 also questioned that whether Taiwan's military has been infiltrated by the spies from China.
01:30 The potential for intelligence leaks is something Taiwan's ruling politicians also acknowledge.
01:36 If we can produce intelligence in Taiwan, it would be beneficial to Taiwan's defense capabilities.
01:41 But I do think that the potential for intelligence leaks that they mentioned
01:44 must be improved and strengthened.
01:47 And because of these intelligence risks, military analysts think that U.S. hardware production in Taiwan would be limited.
01:55 Whether it's missiles or fighters, even ammunition,
01:59 if they cooperate with us, you know that we have a lot of people here.
02:05 It's impossible for the United States to transfer these technologies to Taiwan.
02:09 So we need to build hardware.
02:11 China has made it clear it has its sights set on Taiwan.
02:15 And with Taipei working to strengthen its military,
02:18 the U.S.'s most recent proposal shows both countries are willing to get creative
02:23 to make sure Taiwan has the defenses it needs in a worst-case scenario.
02:27 Scott Huang and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.
02:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]